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Challenges Facing People with Disabilities and Possible Solutions in

Tanzania
Sabbath M. Uromi1 and Mazagwa Iboku Mazagwa2
1

Tanzania Public Service College, Tabora- Tanzania

Archbishop Mihayo University College of Tabora

sabatouromi@yahoo.com

Abstract
The first ever World report on disability, produced jointly by World Health Organization and the World Bank,
suggests that more than a billion people in the world today experience disability Therefore, about 10 per cent of the
worlds populations are PWDs. Out of the number said above, 80 per cent of PWDs live in developing countries. As
for Tanzania in particular, the World Health Organization (WHO) and International Labour Organization (ILO)s
reports of 2007 estimated that there were more than 3 million people in Tanzania who have disability. Probably the
number is still the same. The number includes both physical and mental disabilities. Reports and experience show
that people with disabilities often face mistreatments in a number of ways and because of various reasons. In
addition the World Bank has estimated that, 20 per cent of the most impoverished individuals are disabled.
Evidently, women and children with disabilities are more susceptible to abuse, including physical and sexual
violence as they may not receive sexual education and may be less able to defend themselves against sexual abuse
and rape. Other reports indicate that, the mortality rates for people with disabilities are higher than persons without
disabilities. Worse enough Tanzania Human Rights Report of 2010 which quotes the Disability Survey Report of the
Government of Tanzania of 2008 confirms that, the current illiteracy rate for disabled persons in Tanzania is 47.6
per cent compared to 25.3 per cent of the people without a disability. That means almost half of the PWDs are not
educated.

Key words: The civil, political, social, economic, charity and cultural rights to all people.

Introduction
There is in place the Persons with Disabilities Act of 2010 of Tanzania, which incriminates all forms of
discrimination and mistreatments against persons with disabilities, while at the same time provides for the rights and
duties of the same. It is a law of its kind, probably, the whole of East African Region. It came after long sufferings
of these people, after hundreds of assaults and deaths caused by the said ill-mindset. Obviously, Civil Society
Organizations (CSOs) and the government through good support of funding partners are doing a good job to reform
the ill-mindset of the people, which is rooted in some of the harmful traditional practices. Despite this notable
positive progress reached so far, Comprehensive Community Based Rehabilitation in Tanzania (CCBRT) Vision
2008-2012, Guiding Tanzania Document of 2008, persons with disabilities are three times more likely to contact
HIV/AIDS as they are often excluded from receiving information about HIV/AIDS and they are less likely to
receive HIV/AIDS related services (CCBRT Vision 2008-2012). For example in most of developed countries
(Tanzania inclusive), about 90 percent of children with disabilities do not attend school and that, because of lack of
education, these people find themselves in marginalized position as they could not be employed or self-sustaining.

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As a result, they form a poor family which will in return raise a poor child and access poor education which prepare
him to live poor life.
Tanzania Human Rights Report of 2010 quotes the Disability Survey Report of the Government of Tanzania of
2008 confirms that, the current illiteracy rate for disabled persons in Tanzania is 47.6% compared to 25.3% of the
people without a disability.

Meaning of Disability
Disability is part of the human condition. Almost everyone will be temporarily or permanently impaired at some
point in life, and those who survive to old age will experience increasing difficulties in functioning. Most extended
families have a disabled member, and many non-disabled people take responsibility for supporting and caring for
their relatives and friends with disabilities.
On the other hand, Disability is complex, dynamic, multidimensional, and contested. The transition from an
individual, medical perspective to a structural, social perspective has been described as the shift from a medical
model to a social model in which people are viewed as being disabled by society rather than by their bodies .The
medical model and the social model are often presented as dichotomous, but disability should be viewed neither as
purely medical nor as purely social: persons with disabilities can often experience problems arising from their health
condition (WHO and WB report on disability 2011).
The overall objective of this Article is to provide evidence on the specific nature and challenges facing people with
disabilities when accessing social needs services in Tanzania.

Current Situation of Persons with Disabilities in Tanzania

Persons living with disabilities in Tanzania still face several challenges which have remained unattended for quite
sometimes with no proper mechanism to curb them. These challenges include lack of universal access in the
structural buildings, persons with disabilities living under extreme poverty, the high unemployment rate among
persons with disabilities and poor provisions of education and health services. (Human Rights Report Tanzania,
2012). Worse enough, universal access that calls for the enabling facilitating movement to persons with disabilities
in the country is still a problem. A study initiated by local NGOs that deals with the rights of persons with
disabilities, the Information Centre on Disabilities (ICD) reveals that; there are stairs in hospitals and most public
and private buildings, inaccessible toilets, open rainwater and/or sewage canals, narrow pathways in a way that is
very narrow and a wheelchair cannot pass through, dark and high structural elements at the reception where the
window is situated so high that a PWD cannot easily access it and dangerous road crossings sign which are not
respected by road users (Human Rights Survey Tanzania, 2012).
The poverty rate to persons with disabilities is at an alarming situation which has turned some of them into beggars
in the street. This is accelerated by lack of opportunities for this group. For instance, in one incident in Ukerewe it
was observed, a PWD was denied a loan from the bank simply because of his condition. He said in Kiswahili;
.....Mimi nilienda benki ya NMB kule Ukerewe ninakoishi Nikaomba mkopo baada ya kuwasilisha vielelezo vyangu
vyote vya nyumba. Lakini nilinyimwa mkopo wakati wengine walipeleka hata vielelezo vya viwanja tu wakapata
mkopo. Nilipomfuata meneja wa tawi akasema hawawezi kunikopesha kwani nikishindwa kulipa watashindwa
waanzie wapi kunidai huo mkopo hivyo nirudi tu nyumbani. Kwa kweli iliniumiza sana kwa sababu nilikuwa na
vigezo vyote vya kupata mkopo kama watu wengine....
I applied for a loan at the NMB bank in Ukerewe and submitted all the requirements including the title deed for my
house. Sadly, my colleagues who had only title deeds for the plot were given the loan while as I was denied. I went
to the bank manager to seek clarification only to be told that they could never give me a loan saying how would they
demand from me in case I failed to repay. He turned me down and ordered me to go home. I felt very bad taking into
consideration that I had qualified for it. (Human Rights Report Tanzania, 2012).
Persons with disabilities in Tanzania are also faced with serious stigmatization and torture. In some parts of the
country persons with disabilities are locked in the house while as others are tied on trees or other objects as if they
are animals. In 2012, such incidences were reported in Tanga, Pwani, Kiteto, Rombo and the most horrific one took
place at Iguta Village, Isalavanu Ward in Mufindi District. The horrifying ordeal involved a young lady Stamili who

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was locked inside the room with her legs tied up. She had neither the care nor support and whoever had done the act
had little regard for human dignity.

Source: information centre on disability survey report, 2012

The cruelty against this young girl is inhuman and degrading that should not be tolerated in our communities.
Cruelties against persons with albinism also continued although in small scale compared with the past. In 2012 a
decomposed body of a person with albinism with some parts of his body missing was found at Nambala Village in
Kikwe ward Arumeru (Human Rights Report2012). Other pertinent problems facing this special group is the
education system in the country as it does not provide room for inclusive education to cater for students with
disabilities needs. Currently there are only 16 special schools for persons with disabilities and 159 units integrated in
ordinary schools in the whole country. There are only two special Teachers College that train persons with
disabilities in Tanga and Arusha Tanzania (Human Rights Report, 2012).
The situation in ordinary schools where special units have been integrated is not promising. They lack specialized
teachers, interpreters, sign language experts and school equipment to enable persons with disabilities to master their
studies. For instance Korogwe Teachers College does not have a typing machine with Braille for the visual
impaired. LHRC is of the view that, persons with disabilities in Tanzania and in Africa particularly still face
challenges which need to be addressed in its entirety.
Table 1 shows the number of people with disabilities as estimated by the Ministry of Social Welfare Development,
Women and Children (1998)
Table 1: Estimate of People with Disabilities in Tanzania
Types of disability
Number of people
Physical disability
850,416
Mental disability
242,976
Visual disability
820,044
Heavy Impact
607,440
Multiple Handicap
121,488
Others
394,836
Total
3,372,000

Causes of Disability in most of developing countries including Tanzania

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported in a 29-country study in Africa that the foremost cause of disability
was infectious disease. The leading conditions included malaria, polio and leprosy, along with other communicable
diseases such as tuberculosis, trachoma, media, meningitis and parasitic disease. The incidence of many of these
communicable diseases has been greatly reduced in developed countries but they remain a significant cause of
disability in LICs. The second major cause of disability was war, trauma or accidents (primarily road accidents). The
third most common cause of disability was congenital and non infectious diseases such as epilepsy. The poor quality

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of prenatal care results in disabilities such as cerebral palsy. Other causes of disability include malnutrition due to
vitamin A, iron and iodine deficiency and chronic medical conditions such as rheumatic diseases, stroke and
diabetes. The HIV/AIDS epidemic has further contributed to the prevalence of disability because many people living
with HIV develop different types of impairments and functional limitations.
The study found that chronic conditions such as heart disease and diabetes are in large part outpacing traditional
public health targets such as malnutrition and childhood infectious diseases, Mental illness and low back pain are the
most common causes of disability, with mental illness responsible for 23 percent of years lived with disability, in
Tanzania and low back pain linked to 11 percent. (WHO report, 2011)
Many causes of impairment in Tanzania are directly linked to the quality of healthcare during pregnancy and the
neonatal period and many disabilities can be prevented if newborns with impairment are treated immediately after
birth. For every woman who dies during delivery, up to 20 women become disabled. However, with high quality
services, around 25 per cent of all disabilities can be pre- vented (CCBRT Report, 2011).

Gender and access to education of people with disabilities in Tanzania

In Tanzania, women and girls face inequity in society. A girl with a disability is less likely to attend school and
more likely to be kept at home doing domestic chores. Mothers and other female relatives are the primary caregivers
of children with disabilities, leaving them unable to work or be socially active. Illiteracy rates amongst disabled
adults are double those of adults without disabilities. Without an education, full participation in community life is
virtually impossible.

Do children with disabilities have equal access to education?

Despite Tanzanias very significant effort to increase the opportunities for children to access schooling, there is still
a serious under enrollment of children with disabilities. According to the research by M. Possi, in Tanzania, shows
that 98 per cent of disabled children in developing countries are not in school. In Tanzania, only four out of ten per
cent of children with disabilities are in primary education, now where are the others? What are the reasons behind
this situation? What opportunities exist for them? And when will this problem come to an end? This is mainly
caused by discrimination, social barriers and problems with access. Schools are not designed to cater for children
with disabilities and teachers are not adequately trained (Possi, 1997).
For instance, Regulation 7 of the Education (Expulsion and Exclusion of Pupils from Schools) Regulations of 2002
which is made under provisions of the Education Act of 1978 permits heads of the schools to refuse to admit or
readmit pupils with undesirable physical health in their schools if it appears that a pupils physical condition attracts
undesirability for the pupil to be admitted to the school. This rule is discriminatory because disabled children can be
denied of access to school by being considered to fall under this broad category of having undesirable physical
conditions. The available statistics indicate that the level of passing the examination of pupils with disabilities is
dropping. For instance, in year 2009 only 65 percent of pupils with disabilities were selected to join secondary
schools comparing to 70.43 percent of 2008. Therefore, for one year only the number has dropped down for about
16 percent. The question is how can we make this world a better space for all and include the PWDs in development
process while we really sideline this group out of education system? O'Toole, B. (1988).
The long-term benefits in having a work place free from discrimination as Ambassador Tim Clarke says need to be
designed from the level of ensuring equal access to education and the target of ending gender inequality in education
by 2015 will not be reached without the inclusion of disability (WHO Report, 2011). Moreover, the learning
environments of most of the schools are very harsh to children with disabilities. The Haki Elimus research of April
2009 revealed that, 95 percent of the school buildings, even those built during the implementation of PEDP have not
taken into account the needs of pupils with disabilities. This situation is attributed by more other factors including
the negative attitude of the members of the communities that, people with disabilities cannot sustain studies. So
many practical factors do restrain and draw back the progress toward inclusive (with PWDs) universal primary
education. As a result, only few children with disabilities are attending schools as it is stated above. While the Rule
6 of the UN Standard Rules on Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities of 1994 puts obligation to

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every State to ensure that it make documentation readable and accessible to different groups of PWDs (WHO and
WB report on disability 2011).

The Interaction between Disabled and Non Disabled people in Tanzania

The question is, how are the communities interacting with PWDs in Tanzania? PWDs in Tanzania are interacting
with the communities in which they live in a variety of roles, as patients, businesspeople, friends and customers.
They are exposed to several limitations when trying to access services, either for lack of money or because of their
disability. Often they adopt special behaviors in dealing with their fellows, such as excluding themselves, being
aggressive, being afraid or reserved (not asking for their rights) UNDP (2005).
The promoters reported that in about 60% of all cases they have observed a discriminative, inconsiderate and noncaring attitude of the community members towards PWDs (in about 40% of all cases they observed a nondiscriminative, considerate and caring attitude). They noticed several kinds of specific behaviors towards PWDs,
such as providing PWDs with material or financial assistance, being surprised at seeing a PWD (especially one with
education), being hesitant to assist PWDs, denying PWDs the right to express themselves, giving or not giving
PWDs priority (ICD, 2012) .
I therefore urge the government, development partners and community at large to strengthen Disability peoples
organizations (DPOs) involve with DPOs and try to strengthen their work; they reach out to people especially to the
rural areas. DPOs could also be involved in awareness rising at the household and community level, Train
community workers to participate in screening and preventive health care services, raise awareness for the needs of
people with disabilities in communities and empower People with Disabilities and their Families in order to
maximize their health and rights.

The most challenges facing persons with Disabilities in Tanzania

i)

They also face challenge in accessing health services as they usually get humiliated by health providers, while
health centers infrastructure pose obstacles for them to reach the areas

ii)

The survey report conducted CCBRT in Tanzania also indicates that there is gender imbalance of
employment opportunities to PWDs as men with disabilities are more employed than that of their
counterparts and that the working environment are not friendly to PWDs. (CCBRT, 2010)

iii)

Persons with Disabilities face challenges as denial of employment, economic marginalization. They are
regarded as people who cannon contribute to anything, are dependant and always wait to be helped (Jimmy,
2013)

iv)

Lack of physical power. PWDs also lack physical energy to fight sexual aggressors

v)

Poverty. Most of people with disabilities are poor so they look for money and get HIV/AIDS in the process.

vi)

Limited access to information. They are marginalized groups who are not easily reached by health
information sites, for example many people with disabilities do not have the opportunity to access where
HIV/AIDS discussion, blood screening and sensitization take place. In the same manner they deliberately
have unprotected sex with them.

vii)

Wrong belief that women with disabilities are not HIV/AIDS infected. Some men tend to assume that women
with disabilities are less likely to have HIV/AIDS and so involve them in sex relations.

Possible solutions
The African states including Tanzanian governments in cooperation with civil society are supposed to implement
the following:
1. Formulate and implement national policies, programmes and legislation to promote the full and equal
participation of persons with disabilities;

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2. Promote the participation of Persons with Disabilities in the process of economic and social development;
3. Promote the self-representation of People with Disabilities in all public decision-making structures;
4. To enhance support services for disabled persons;
5. Promote special measures for children, youth, women and elderly persons with disabilities;
6. Ensure and improve access to rehabilitation, education, training, employments, sports, the cultural and physical
environment;
7. To promote and protect disability rights as human rights;
8. To support the development of and strengthen Disabled Persons organizations;
9. Mobilize resources.

Conclusion
In this light, the challenge confronting policy and law formulation to promote, protect and safeguard the rights of
persons with disabilities needs to be viewed in a broader context beyond a single piece of legislation. According to
WHO report on disability which stipulates that; lack of equitability access to resources such as education,
employment, health care and the social and legal support system resulting in person with disabilities having
disproportionately high rate of poverty (WHO Disability Report 2012). Sustainable equitable progress in the agreed
global development agenda cannot be achieved without the inclusion of persons with Disabilities. If they are not
included, progress in the development will further their marginalization.

Recommendations
The law is there and so are numerous regulations that seek to ensure PWDs are always given due recognition and
equal right in accessing public facilities, but the most important thing is how the society perceives them and caters to
their needs. This is about setting in process a turnaround in mindsets, so that the people with disability in our midst
do not feel left out or held down by their disabilities. The most important is that, the government should go beyond
enactment of legislations on employment of PWDs through intensifying awareness raising efforts towards disability
policies and legislations to public and private sectors employers as an attempt to encourage them employ people
with disabilities. PWDs should be encouraged to apply for formal employment opportunities and that there should
gender equality (WHO, 2005). All working barriers such as lack of lifts and ramps in office buildings, equipments,
and reliable transport to and from the office should be removed and companies should be sensitized to have
disability policies and legislations in workplaces that oversee the employment of PWDs and penalties for those who
do not comply with them must be formed. Media should be in a frontline on this. The society too should realize that
PWDs are part of the society; they also can contribute the same or even more in the society development if given
opportunity to education and empowered to work.

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